The Council of the European Union has on October 30 formally approved its position on amending the EU budget for 2013 covering the remaining payment needs. Formal adoption of the draft amending budgets No 8 (DAB2 bis) and 9 follows the political agreement reached by the Committee of the Permanent Representatives on October 14.

President Dalia Grybauskaitė met with representatives of the business mission from the United States of America. U.S. investors are visiting Lithuania on the initiative of the American-Lithuanian Business Council that was launched half a year ago. The President attended its inaugural meeting in Washington.

Statistics Lithuania informs that, based on provisional data, in September 2013, the turnover (VAT excluded) of enterprises engaged in wholesale and retail trade and repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles amounted to LTL 740.5 million and, against August, increased by 7.4% at constant prices.

On Friday, the 3-helicopter contract will be signed in the Ministry of National Defence.

President Dalia Grybauskaitė is attending a European Council meeting to discuss the best possible use of the opportunities offered by the EU digital market. The Digital Single Market is expected to be completed by 2015. It stands as a key priority on the Lithuanian EU Presidency agenda.

President Dalia Grybauskaitė, currently on a working visit to Brussels, together with European Council President Herman Van Rompuy and European Commission President José Manuel Barosso attended a coordination meeting to discuss major issues on the European Council agenda. Dalia Grybauskaitė briefed the EU leaders on continuing trade restrictions by Russia on the Lithuanian dairy products.

In his welcoming address to the Japanese business delegation on its visit to the Office of the Government earlier today, the Prime Minister Algirdas Butkevičius has noted that Lithuania has always highly appreciated cooperation with Japan.

Lithuania's Prime Minister Algirdas Butkevičius believes that dairy companies should diversify their sales. He hopes that companies will start to export dairy products to China, Brazil or the US, because Russian market for this kind of products is closed.

In September 2013, as compared to the September of 2012, Lithuanian airports' passenger traffic increases by 15.5%, while the number of the passengers handled by Lithuania's air carriers decreased by 23%.

In May 2014, the new logistics and storage centre of the largest in Lithuania consumer goods wholesale, distribution and logistics company Sanitex will open in Kaunas District.